Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Cherokee National Forest

 Greenbriar campground is located in Pittman Center, west of Gatlinburg, adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains. The campground is certainly one of the nicest camping spots I’ve n the area. The campground is very large, and has multiple camping options. They have tent and rv spots, as well as cabins, but I also saw some teepee style tent cabins. The campground is very wooded, so you feel like you are getting a legitimate Smoky Mountain camping experience. The pigeon river runs through the campground, and is great for fishing, or swimming/tubing in summer. There is a dog park also, and the campground is pet friendly. This campground has so many things to do, and it is very popular, so if you want to camp here, I would suggest booking early, because spots are booked months in advance. The campground is very quiet at night, with just the sounds of nature. There is a camp store, with firewood, and you’ll want to enjoy a campfire, even in the middle of summer. I Highly recommend Greenbriar Campground for camping in the Smokies.

Considering the actual square footage of this KOA, there was a lot of unused space. Which for a KOA was strange. There were two open fields so maybe they plan to expand. There was a trail that meandered through the park which was nice, though steep and slippery in a few places, be careful.

This is a very “strategically” located KOA. SO much to do in this area. Bring your mountain bike, hiking boots and drinking cup. Bakeries, Orchards, breweries, mountains, waterfalls and bike trails just to name a few things ;)

The campground is near I-40 but I didn’t even notice it when I was in my van, sorta white noise. I was in the back loop so maybe the front area gets more noise from the interstate.

There is a dog park and maybe I’m dog fickle but it’s a smaller park in a huge grass field....why not make the dog park bigger??

The sites in a straight line are close, the ones in the curve have more room. There’s a shower house in the back loop which is new and well maintained. Strange too was the dump site in the back loop, I didn’t see one in the front area.

Other than rain almost every day, we enjoyed this spot while checking out Asheville and Biltmore Estate. The campground is very wooded, allowing for shady space. The showers were decently clean. Garbage is picked up at your site, or you can recycle next to the shower house which is not located far for the back section, which we were in, with full hookups. We enjoyed the trail through the woods that circles the whole campground. Our dog enjoyed the dog park. There is a pool and camp store.

The Kampground is kept clean, the bathrooms are clean and the staff is very friendly and accommodating. There is a nice hiking trial that goes around the perimeter of the Kamp.

A nice size dog park is located between the 2 sections of the kamp.

I knock off 1/2 star for the noise from I-40 and  1/2 star for small area allocated to each site.

All in all, I would stay again if it fits into our travel plans.

This place was amazing! Other than the keys this is my second favorite. They have a lot of amenities such as and arcade, playground, dog park, laundry room, camp store. We came from Florida to see the fall leaves. Our 35 ft RV was right on the stream. The ducks flew in and out all day. It really was beautiful! Everyone was super friendly. The staff was great about guiding guest into their spot. I will definitely be returning to the campground!

Really beautiful spot. It's one small loop with around 30 sites, as well as 3 luxury yurts. Very level w/ nice gravel, fire pits & picnic tables. A nice big creek runs behind most of the campsites. There's a playground for the kids and a little fenced in dog park, too (it even has a nice dog wash station!). Beautifully landscaped with lots of flowers, bird feeders and little white lights at night. The bathhouse was clean and there's a nice picnic shelter. The camp store has basic necessities (even local, fresh eggs). Blue Ridge Parkway isn't far. We recommend the hike to Crabtree Falls! Only con is that the sites are very close together.

Sites: 60 Pull thrus 

RV-Tent-Cabins 15-30-50 amp service 

Hot showers, pool, pets allowed, toilets, laundry, small grocery store This is only of couple of miles off I40 in the rolling hills of Tennessee, very quiet and well maintained. Sites ae a bit close together but not on top of each other. Gravel pads, fire rings, picnic table, trash. Beautiful green space and dog walk area. Enjoy the hiking. 

LNT 

Travel safe

You really can’t pass this one up. If you are road tripping from Great Smokey to Shenandoah this is the perfect one or two night way point. We opted for two nights and were stunned with the views from the hemlock loop. We booked before the site filled up and got the best site of the loop — site 006. I don’t know if we’ll ever be back because it was a bit out of the way for us.

It is primarily a boat/fishing recreation area in Cherokee National Forest, but it works as a perfect get away. Similar to other NF campgrounds the sites are huge and offering full or partial shade. We lucked out and got there during peak autumn colors. Being that we booked a month out we didn’t realize the campground would close the other loops our weekend causing our loop to be full the whole weekend. The atmosphere was respectful.

We did a day trip to Asheville, NC since we are not boat ppl and got to experience a great day in the city.

These are largely primitive sites, but offer some great amenities regardless. Very big picnic tables, shared water, bathrooms, and a boat ramp.

Alcohol isn’t permitted but it seemed like everyone ignores that rule. Bring your own firewood as what they were offering needed to be chopped. We didn’t bring our axe so we had to run out for some wood at a gas station.

Also the road into the campsite has several switchbacks and blind turns. Locals breeze through it, but if you are hauling an very large trailer/RV be prepared. It would be tough to make some of these turns in a vehicle the size of a greyhound.

Sunset is worth it. If we can come back, we will.

We stayed here for a week to visit the Asheville area. The location is amazing very short drive into town, hiking spots, and I highly recommend you take a walk around Lake Junaluska . We booked this spot for the location and it delivered. Yes, that came with a lot of highway noise... but again we wanted an easy jumping off point. So we got exactly what we booked. What was the biggest difference maker was the staff. So lovely, so kind! Trash pick up from our site and each night they delivered firewood to us. Even would refill your propane tank and deliver it back to you. Spots were a little squeezed but not too bad. Dog park was awesome for our two pups.

Greenbrier has improved their campground even more. This time we stayed in the “new” front area. The sites are bigger and water front. There’s a new bathhouse with several individual bathrooms. The dog park is near this area as well as a swimming area on the river. It’s a short walk to the office/store and all the activities they offer. It’s quiet, peaceful, close enough to Gatlinburg to get there and back easily, and has a trolley that takes you on and out of downtown. There was music one night, BINGO, another night and an Ice Cream truck and Kona Truck came through every evening. Use Google maps to look at sites for width. Some are wider than others. Wifi is great for to one who need that.

Stonebridge RV Resort and Campground, Maggie Valley NC. This one gets 4 ⭐️ from me. The good: this is a clean, well kept campground right in Maggie Valley. It’s close to everything. It is well run and organized. The grounds are kept very neatly. The creek at the back is beautiful and a great place for kids to play and tube from one end of the campground to the other. There is a large play area at the end that has plenty of play equipment and room to run. A dog park for off-leash play, separated for big dogs and small dogs. The whole area is clean, doggie bags conveniently located for easy clean-up. The kids can play and enjoy themselves without parents worrying about them bothering other campers. There are tons of kids but they didn’t bother a thing.

The bad: the sites are extremely close together. Extremely close. The sites (Premium Creekside) along the creek have plenty of room behind your site to enjoy your site and the creek. The pull through sites, though, are so close the sewer hookup is literally right beside the next site’s picnic table. Within inches. Don’t pick those if you plan to cook and eat outside. There are some buddy sites that would be good if you come with other campers, but I would still pick the creek side sites.

The Ugly: just the pull through sites and the sewage dump inches from the next picnic table. That’s pretty gross.

Overall, I would return. It’s a quiet (enough) campground, clean and well kept. The people who work there are nice and helpful. I just wish the sites were a little wider. It’s much nicer than other area campgrounds.

This camp ground is nothing short of luxurious! From its level concrete sites (some with massive stack stone fireplaces) to it’s bathhouses (that are nicer than my own home bathrooms, btw), they have spared no expense in creating the nicest campground possible! Basically, my only complaint is that there are almost no shade trees. Most campers who stay here have large RVs so shade isn’t necessarily an issue for them. We have a pop up camper (we were literally the only pop up there’s when we stayed-lol) and although we have air conditioning in our camper, the tent beds get pretty hot even still without some shade trees. Also, there is no restroom even close to the playground area. Thankfully we didn’t have a bathroom emergency with our toddler.

The beach area they’ve constructed on the lake is INSANE! So so nice! There’s a giant blow up slide leading into the lake. There’s a super cute and fun dog park, arcade room, very nice pool area, food truck with anything you could want to eat, and the workers are super nice. Every Saturday in October, campers decorate their site and hand out candy to the costumed campers! My kids LOVED that. We have already booked for this next October and plan to make it a tradition!